May 24, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

HP Colour Laser 150nw Review UK 2026: Do Not Buy

Last updated: 24 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Tech / PrintersDo Not Buy

HP Colour Laser 150nw review: the printer that died at eleven months

We bought an HP Colour Laser 150nw for about £130 thirteen months ago. It is now sitting in a recycling pile. This HP Colour Laser 150nw review explains exactly why, because the power button broke, HP's support website was impenetrable, and returning it to Currys was not worth the trip.

Cool Factor

★☆☆☆☆

1 out of 5 — Do Not Buy

So here is the short version. The print quality was genuinely fine. Everything else was not. We are writing this review so that you do not waste your money the way we wasted ours. Below, we walk through everything that went wrong, why the fault is baked into the design, and exactly what to buy instead.

The HP Colour Laser 150nw. Compact, tidy, and now destined for the recycling centre.

Published by Stiv in Buying Guides, Consumer Tech, Reviews, Tech News

Tags: Brother, home office, HP, laser printer, printers, reviews, Tech reviews

May 15, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Home Printer UK 2026: Laser Beats Ink, Every Time

Last updated: 15 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Affiliate disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend kit we would put on our own desks.

Printers are the one piece of tech that has somehow got worse over the past 20 years. They jam, they run out of ink the moment you need them, and they cost more per millilitre than vintage champagne. So when we set out to find the best home printer UK buyers can actually live with in 2026, we started from a position of mild rage and worked outwards.

Here is the short version. For most homes the best home printer UK answer is a small Brother mono laser. It is boring, reliable, cheap to run, and the toner never dries out. If you genuinely need colour at home, skip ink cartridges entirely and buy a refillable ink tank such as an Epson EcoTank or a Canon PIXMA MegaTank. That is the whole guide in two sentences. The rest is the working.

Published by Stiv in Buying Guides, Consumer Tech, Home office, Smart Home, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: AirPrint, best printer 2026, Brother printer, Canon PIXMA, Epson EcoTank, home office, home printer, laser printer, refillable ink, UK printer guide

May 11, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Portable Speakers UK 2026: 12 We’d Actually Buy

Last updated: 11 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Long before the AirPods era, before Sonos was on every shelf, before "Bluetooth speaker" stopped sounding faintly novel, there was the Jawbone Jambox. We had one of the original models knocking around for years. Tiny, weirdly heavy, sounded like a pocket-sized rock concert, and felt like the future. Then Jawbone went bust, the Jambox died, and the entire portable speaker world quietly got a lot better. So in this guide to the best portable speakers UK shoppers can buy in 2026, we're rounding up the speakers we'd happily replace that old Jambox with today.

A good portable speaker turns a garden into a festival, a kitchen into a club, and a park meet-up into something worth staying for. A bad one sounds like music playing inside a tin can from three rooms away. Here's how to pick the right one without overpaying.

This guide contains affiliate links. If you buy through our links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Published by Stiv in Buying Guides, Smart Home, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: audio, Bang and Olufsen, best portable speakers, bluetooth speakers, Bose, JBL, Marshall, portable speakers, smart home, Sonos

May 4, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Why Retro Gaming Is Booming in the UK in 2026

Last updated: 4 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Retro gaming in the UK is having a moment. Actually, it is having much more than a moment. The global retro gaming console market hit $3.8 billion in 2025 and is on track to reach over $4 billion this year. Old cartridges are selling for serious money on eBay. Companies like Analogue are building premium FPGA consoles that sell out in minutes. And a growing number of us are dusting off our childhood game collections rather than queuing up for the latest blockbuster release. So what is actually going on? And if you want in, what is the best way to play retro games in the UK right now?

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Published by Stiv in Arts & Culture, Kids and big kids, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: Analogue 3D, Analogue Pocket, Back Market, FPGA, Game Boy, gaming, N64, nostalgia, refurbished tech, retro gaming, retro gaming UK

May 1, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones UK 2026: Honest Picks

Last updated: 1 May 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Noise-cancelling headphones are one of those purchases where the difference between "good" and "life-changing" is roughly £100. Fortunately, even budget options in 2026 are genuinely impressive. More importantly, between us we've worn every pair below for long enough to know which ones are worth your money, and which ones will start hurting your ears after an hour. This is our honest guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones UK shoppers can buy right now.

This guide contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy through our links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All picks are based on genuine use and independent assessment.

Published by Stiv in Audiophiles, Consumer Tech, Reviews, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: AirPods Max 2, AirPods Pro 3, ANC, best headphones, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, headphones review, noise cancelling headphones, Nothing Ear, Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sonos Ace, Sony WF-1000XM6, Sony WH-1000XM6, Soundcore Space One

April 28, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Phone for Every Budget UK 2026 (iPhone, Android, Fairphone)

Last updated: 28 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

There are too many phones. Every manufacturer releases three tiers, each with two sizes, every year, and frankly it is exhausting. So we have cut through it: here is the best phone for every budget in the UK right now, whether you are team iPhone, team Android, team sustainable, or team "just give me something that works for under £200".

Some links in this guide are affiliate or referral links. This costs you nothing extra and helps support the site.

Published by Stiv in Buying Guides, Guides, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: android, best phone, budget phone, fairphone, iPhone, iPhone 17 Pro, mobile, Nothing Phone, Pixel 10 Pro, refurbished phones, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, smartphones, UK tech 2026

April 21, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Refurbished Laptops UK 2026: Top Picks and Where to Buy

Last updated: 21 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

A brand new MacBook Air costs over £1,000. A refurbished laptop with the same specs, a 12-month warranty, and a 30-day returns policy costs under £750. Same laptop. Same performance. Just without the new-box smell. If you have been wondering whether refurbished laptops UK buyers can actually rely on are any good, the answer is yes. We know because we buy them. Here is how to buy refurbished laptops in the UK without getting burned.

Two of us are typing this on refurbished MacBooks right now. One came from Back Market, the other from the Apple Refurbished Store. Both arrived looking and performing like new. The Back Market one was about 30% cheaper than buying new.

This post contains referral links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps fund the site. As always, our recommendations are based on genuine experience, not commissions.

Published by Stiv in Money saving, Services, Smart Home, Sustainable Living, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: Back Market, laptop buying guide, MacBook Air, refurbished laptops, refurbished MacBook, refurbished tech, sustainable tech, ThinkPad

April 18, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Honest Mobile Review UK 2026: Is It Worth Switching?

Last updated: 18 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 — Stone cold

Most mobile networks spend their marketing budget shouting about unlimited data and free Spotify. Honest Mobile spends theirs planting trees and donating to charity. After four months using it as our daily SIM, here's our Honest Mobile review, covering signal, pricing, the app, and whether the ethical angle comes at the cost of actually being a good network.

Thinking of switching to Honest Mobile?

Our Honest Mobile referral page has the sign-up link and any current offer.

Try Honest Mobile

Published by Stiv in Carbon conscious, Ethical Living, Reviews, Tech Hacks, Tech News, Technology lover, Travel lover

Tags: Ethical Tech, Honest Mobile, Mobile Networks, reviews, SIM only, UK mobile

April 11, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Analogue Pocket UK Buyer’s Guide 2026: Every System It Plays

Last updated: 11 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

The Analogue Pocket UK buyer's guide covers everything you need to know before spending upwards of £270 on what might be the finest retro gaming handheld ever made. This FPGA-powered device plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges straight out of the box. With adapters and community cores, it goes much further. We are talking Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket, SNES, Mega Drive, arcade classics and more. If you have ever wondered whether the Analogue Pocket is worth importing to the UK, this guide has your answers.

Published by Stiv in Reviews, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: Analogue Pocket, FPGA, Game Boy, handheld console, openFPGA, retro gaming, retro handheld UK

March 29, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Dyson Spot+Scrub AI Review UK: Overpriced, Outsourced, Underwhelming

Last updated: 22 March 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Cool Factor: 0/5

This Dyson Spot Scrub review is not one we ever expected to write. We've reviewed hundreds of products across CoolCuration and never once handed out a zero. Not once. But the Dyson Spot+Scrub AI, priced at a staggering £1,049.99, has earned the dishonour of being our first. It's a robot vacuum that somehow offers less suction than its predecessor, appears to be manufactured by a third-party Chinese ODM, and arrives stamped with a premium price tag that only the Dyson name can justify. For a vacuum cleaner, the Dyson Spot+Scrub AI really does suck. Just not in the way you'd want it to.

Published by Stiv in Reviews, Smart Home, Tech News, Technology lover

Tags: best robot vacuums, Dyson, Dyson review, Dyson Spot Scrub AI, robot vacuum, robot vacuum review, smart home